LAS VEGAS – The History Channel was among the many sponsors of the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, which, in an odd sort of way, was appropriate.
Pacquiao made history on Saturday when he battered Miguel Cotto over 11-plus brutal rounds, winning the World Boxing Organization welterweight title in one of the finest performances of a brilliant career.
Pacquiao dropped Cotto in the third and fourth rounds, landed 43 percent of his punches and mercifully stopped the game Puerto Rican 55 seconds into the final round when referee Kenny Bayless jumped in to save Cotto.
Cotto’s trainer, Joe Santiago, ought to be flogged for not stopping it sooner. Cotto never recovered after the second knockdown, which came in the fourth round, and spent most of the final seven-plus rounds trying to fend off a man who was far too fast, far too slick and far too talented.
Pacquiao’s performance was so